


until the very end

by bob_eclipsa_smith



Series: a song of sun and moon au [2]
Category: Tangled (2010), Tangled: The Series (Cartoon)
Genre: AU, Alcohol, Destiny, F/M, Gen, OC mention, Unrequited Love, song of sun and moon au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-03-05 12:55:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18829096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bob_eclipsa_smith/pseuds/bob_eclipsa_smith
Summary: It’s Raps’ twenty-third birthday and Corona’s throwing a ball. Cass has a bit too much to drink and her faithful protector takes it upon himself to take care of her.Takes place after Destinies Collide - much, much later.





	until the very end

**Author's Note:**

> This is a part of a series I’ve been working on. I call it the GOT AU ‘cause I just got into Thrones and I feel like it’d be interesting to see how TTS relates to it - even though it’s not really a GOT AU. It’s more of a speculation of what happens after the series ends.
> 
> Evie is a character who appears earlier in the AU. She’s kind of an “ex” but not really. 
> 
> Varian went back to the castle when he heard Cass still has the power of the opal even after it’s been destroyed. To fulfill Raps’ destiny, they have to merge the powers of the sun and moon to destroy them, which may end up killing Cass in the process.

“Cass, that’s your sixth glass of wine. Don’t you think that’s taking it a little too far?”

Cassandra pins him with a glare worthy of her sober self. She purposefully snags a glass off a plate passing by, and takes a long sip. When she’s done, Cassandra raises her eyebrow at him.

Varian sighs. He should have known better as to think he could have told Cassandra to do something. She was painfully stubborn about things like this, even though she did have a right to be upset.

He scratches the back of his head. “C’mon Cass,” he says, urging her away from the refreshment table. “At least save me from my danceless fate.”

Cassandra looks him up and down, her eyes unreadable. She nods minutely, and Varian can’t believe what he’s witnessing.

“Wait, seriously-?!”

He doesn’t get to finish the thought, for Cass downs the rest of her glass and grabs his wrist, yanking him onto the dance floor with an unsurprisingly strong grip.

“Don’t flatter yourself, kid,” says Cassandra, and just to let him know she’s kidding, she sends him a crooked smirk. “I’m not exactly at my best right now.”

Varian laughs, amazed that this is actually happening. “Well, I think you look beautiful,” he says truthfully, and then immediately retracts. “Wait, not that I think you in particular are beautiful, just that… heh, you look nice.”

Cassandra snorts and ruffles his hair. “Still the same old Varian,” she laughs, moving his arm so that it’s around her waist. “Now c’mon kid,” she raises an eyebrow at him playfully, and he feels those feelings creeping back again. The ones that he tried so hard to repress. “You owe me a dance.”

Varian laughs again, a single surprised, glad laugh similar to the time Cass agreed to be his assistant all those years ago.

“I don’t really know how to dance,” Varian scratches the back of his head with his free hand. “Believe it or not, I’ve never been to one of these things before. Not that I’ve never danced with a girl before, that would be ridiculous!” he laughs shakily, hoping Cass didn’t hear the false note in his voice.

She doesn’t, and Varian cries out when she feels him swipe his goggles from his head, clumsily pulling them over her own head.

“Why do you have these on, kid?!” Cass snickers openly, toying with the lenses. “Is this one of your surprise experiments? Am I in danger?” she jokes goodnaturedly.

Cassandra throws her head back in a mirthful laugh, and Varian chuckles at the pure innocent wonder he sees in her expression. This was the Cassandra that made him feel things, though the fact that she had to drink six glasses of wine to show him this Cass makes Varian worry.

She sighs heavily and Varian’s eyes snap to hers.

“You okay?”

Cassandra smiles lazily, her eyes blearily. “Mhm,” she says, her head dropping on Varian’s shoulder. He snidely takes the goggles from her head and hears Cass chuckle.

Just the feel of her this close is an eye opener. Having her in his arms, the scent of her hair tickling his nose, the weight of her head on his shoulder, is like having a dream that had long since died suddenly revive again.

She raises her head. “Let’s go watch the lanterns,” Cassandra giggles, and Varian’s eyes widen.

He suddenly remembers Evie and he stops. He shouldn’t be doing this so quickly. He cares about Evie, but… Cass is pulling him to the balcony now, her hazel eyes sparkling in the moonlight. She smiles at him and his heart melts.

Varian sighs.

_Hey, it’s okay, Var. You love her. You always will. I get it. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. I think I knew from the moment I felt something for you that this - whatever this was - would never last. Cassandra deserves someone like you, Var. And you… you deserve to be happy. I don’t think you’d ever truly be happy without Cassandra._

_I’m sorry, Var, I really am, but there’s nothing there for us. Not anymore. There was a long time ago where there was something there, but since Cassandra’s freak out, you’ve never really been the same._

_I’ll probably always have a soft spot for you anyways. Keep safe, Varian._

_Evie_

Varian clenches his hands, unable to keep from watching Cassandra’s guileless expression as she watched the lanterns that marked Rapunzel’s twenty-third birthday take off. He can’t help but soften immediately when her eyes meet his. She smiles at him, innocently, genuinely; and his heart flutters.

_Quiet you._

Cassandra carefully tucks a stray curl behind her ear. “I’ve always wanted something like this for my birthday,” she admits softly.

Varian laughs. When she doesn’t join in, he turns to look at her. “Wait, seriously?”

Cassandra rolls her eyes. “Kind of,” she says. “I mean, it must be nice to be as well-loved as Raps.” She lowers her gaze and Varian struggles to read her expression. It’s incredulous that she just compared herself to the princess.

He straightens, suddenly serious. “When’s your birthday?”

Cass looks up, confused. She shakes her head. “Varian, you really don’t have to do anything-”

“Cassandra.”

She rolls her eyes and bites back a smile. “November third,” says Cassandra.

Varian grins. “Okay then that gives me about six months to prepare.” He crosses his arms. “Prepare to have the best birthday ever, milady.”

Cass bursts into laughter. “Varian, you really don’t have to do that! Don’t waste your time, kid. You have work to do as the royal alchemist, right?”

Varian hesitates. “Yeah but...” he trails off. _I’d do it for you. I’d do nearly anything for you._

Cassandra giggles. “Haha, you’re getting all serious,” to Varian’s shock, Cassandra presses her hands against his cheeks. “Serious Varian reporting for duty,” she mutters gruffly before throwing her head back in a laugh.

Varian laughs nervously, stepping back. “C’mon, Cass. I think you’ve had enough for the night.”

Cass rolls her eyes. “No I haven’t,” she mutters, quite nearly tripping over her own feet. “I’m good,” she says when Varian sprints over to her.

Varian sighs in relief and slight irritation. No matter how open this Cass is with him, he’s starting to miss the other Cass. Sober Cass. The one who didn’t cause scenes.

“Okay, up we go,” Varian grunts, lifting Cassandra into his arms. He conspicuously ignores the surprised gasp he hears from her.

“Hmmm,” says Cass, and Varian looks at her. “Maybe I have had too much tonight.”

Varian lets out his thousandth chuckle of the evening. “Are you kidding, Cass?”

She tilts her head and scrunches her nose, as though offended by a particularly bad odor. “Am I drunk?”

Varian snorts. “You’re _wasted_.”

Cassandra snorts before cackling in his arms. To see her laugh so openly is exuberating, amazing. “I’m wasted,” she agrees happily, and then throws her head back in another laugh. “You’re not wasted though, are you Varian?”

He fights back a smile. “Nope.”

Cassandra frowns at him. “Lame. You’re lame.”

Varian sighs, and Cass seems to enjoy the fact that she can irritate him. She settles in his arms, considering him with unnerving steady eyes.

“Where are we going now?”

“Back to your room, milady,” Varian tells her, and Cassandra pouts. He smiles upon seeing her obvious reluctance. “Why? Is there somewhere else you had in mind?”

Cassandra looks far more interested in staring up at the sky, the stars reflected in her wide eyes. “How ‘bout the moon?”

Varian stops. He looks at the young woman in his arms, wondering if she understands the irony in her words. “Sorry, Cass. That’s kinda impossible, even for me.”

Cass shakes her head, staring up at him guilelessly. “No way,” she says. “You can do anything. You’re crazy science guy.”

Varian bites back a smile. “So what, Cass, you want me to make a machine that could transport you to the moon in less than five minutes?”

“No, no, no,” Cass shakes her head, gesturing nonsensically. “Not me by myself. You gotta transport us _both_ to the moon.”

Varian plays along. “How would that work, milady? I need to man the machine from Corona. How am I gonna get us back from the moon?”

Cassandra ponders this, tapping her fingers on her chin. “Nah, we don’t need to go back,” she decides.

“We don’t?”

Cass shakes her head. “Nope!” She snuggles into his hold, burrowing her head into his shoulder to stifle a yawn, and Varian softens… just a little bit.

“So we’re just gonna live on the moon then, Cass?”

She sighs happily, and Varian becomes very aware that her fingers are tightly curled around the material of his shirt.

“Just the two of us,” says Cassandra. “It can be our own special place. No one else owns the moon but us.”

Varian raises an eyebrow. “Well I guess that’s technically true.”

Cassandra ponders this as well, looking as though she hadn’t thought of that. Varian watches the excitement her eyes dull as the seriousness of her situation dawns on her.

“It’s almost full,” says Cassandra with a small smile that’s more melancholic than mirthful. The reflection of the sky darkens her eyes and lashes, and she meets Varian’s inquisitive gaze. “I was just thinking about…”

 _The merge._ Cassandra hardly needs to finish her sentence, given that Varian has hardly been thinking about anything else as of late. He squeezes her hand absentmindedly and she smiles.

“Do you think I’m gonna die, Varian?”

He flinches at the sudden question. Something about the nonchalant way Cassandra talks about her potential death makes him really want to break things.

“No,” he says quickly. Too quickly.

Cass yawns. She considers him very seriously. “How do you know?”

He doesn’t look at her. “I just know.”

Cass says nothing, resting her head against his shoulder. She just watches him solemnly, trying to discern his expression. Varian hopes his outrage isn’t as noticeable as it feels. The unspoken _I won’t let you die_ , rings through the air, but if Cassandra senses it, she doesn’t comment on it.

Cass wrings her hands. “I think I’d be okay,” she says sleepily. “If I died while helping Raps. Always thought I’d go out in a blaze of glory. It’s taken longer than I thought though.”

Varian doesn’t reply.

~

By the time he makes it to her room ( _he definitely didn’t take the long route on purpose_ ), Cass is lightly dozing in his arms, her head resting against his shoulder. Even though the feel of her in his arms is a dream come true, Varian is still mad at her. He has her mortality on the brain.

Varian plops her on the bed and Cass makes an outraged sleepy noise.

“Sorry.”

He makes his way back to her door, his mood sufficiently soured. It’s been a long time since Varian has been this angry, and these days, it’s only Cassandra who’s capable of eliciting such emotions. Well… despite Rapunzel, but Varian doesn’t exactly consider her a friend, especially after what she did to Cass.

It always comes back to Cassandra doesn’t it? God, he’s so lame.

“Varian?”

He turns around. “Yeah?”

She watches him sleepily from underneath her eyelashes. “You’re mad at me.”

He sighs. He goes back to Cassandra, and he sits on the edge of her bed. “I’m not _mad_ at you,” he says.

“Mmm… yeah you are.”

“Okay, maybe a little.”

Cass laughs a little at this. “I told you,” she yawns cutely and stretches before sitting up. Cassandra must not know how much the little things she does affect him, for she absentmindedly twirls a piece of hair that had fallen out of her elaborate updo.

Varian rubs the bridge of his nose. “Cass, I'm not mad at you. I’m mad that you’ve just… _accepted_ that you might not make it out of the merge.”

Cass’ eyes soften. “Kid, I’m sorry. But we have to consider that-”

“No.”

Cassandra gives him an exasperated look.

He shakes his head. “No we don’t.”

“Varian,” she slurs, running a hand through her hair. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that Raps is okay. She was born with her powers and I wasn’t. It’s okay. I’ve accepted it.”

Varian gets up. “I’m sorry. I can’t do this. I really can’t, Cassandra.”

He hates how hurt she looks. It makes him guilty. “Can’t do what?”

He whirls on her. “Talk with you about you possibly dying!” cries Varian. “Are you _kidding_ me, Cass?!”

Cass looks away. “I didn’t think you’d still care.”

“You… you didn’t think I… _what?!_ Cassandra! Look, you may not care about what happens to you, but others _do._ If… if you die, then what? Rapunzel would be devastated, Vex won’t have a sparring partner, Ruddiger would be… _beyond_ upset. With me, mostly… for not helping you as best I could, but I digress.”

Cassandra chuckles darkly, rubbing her eyes sloppily. “Sorry, Var, but I’m not buying it.”

“Oh for God’s sake,” Varian throws his hands up. “What about me?! Do you really think I wouldn’t go out of my freaking _mind_ if you died?!”

Cassandra looks at him like she’s never seen him before. If she hadn’t been as intoxicated as she was, Varian might have thought there was a chance she could see reason.

“Varian, you’re going to be fine.”

“So are you,” he retorts. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“How?”

“I’ll find a way.”

Cassandra gestures nonsensically with her hands. “Kid, if anyone can do it, it’s you. You’re literally a genius!” she smiles crookedly. “Also you’re pretty popular among the young ladies in waiting. Just in case you didn’t know.” Cass smirks, and then gets serious again. “But you can’t save everyone.”

“I don’t want to save everyone,” Varian says stubbornly. “Just you.”

Cassandra sighs. “Oh, Varian. You’ve got such a bright future. You can’t waste it on trying to help someone like me.”

“I can do what I want with my time,” he says.

“Kid. C’mon. Just see reason here. You have a crazy mind and you’re not bad looking,” she smiles. “You have a good life ahead of you.”

Varian looks away, trying to hide his growing blush. “Oh no, we’re not going there,” he says. “You were the only girl who asked me to dance tonight, and you’re… you are... my friend. Who would want to be with a failure of an alchemist?”

Cassandra looks at him with all the seriousness of a severely drunken woman. “Shut up. Varian,” she snaps, then softens, smiles even. “Someday, you’ll find someone. And that person, they’ll be the luckiest person in the seven kingdoms.”

Her eyes flutter, and it seems as though Cass is oblivious to Varian’s surprised flinch, for she simply lays down on her bed and puts her head on her palm. She sighs once, contentedly, and Varian realizes that she’s finally out for the count.

He smiles despite everything, and kneels besides her bedside, daring to lightly brush her hair back from her forehead. Her nose crinkles with the sudden movement, and Varian scrambles backwards as quickly and quietly as he can.

He stops once he’s five feet away from Cassandra, trying to slow his breathing. Cass sighs, her hand hangs off the bed, and she stills. Varian breathes a sigh of relief. She would have been mad if she had woken up, and Varian didn’t want Cassandra to be upset.

“Mmm, Varian?”

His heart races. “Yeah?”

Cassandra’s mouth forms a droopy smile. “I’m happy I met you.”

Varian melts. “I’m happy I met you too, Cassandra.”

Cassandra smiles. “I thought I told you to call me Cassie,” she says and then giggles. “No one else gets to call me Cassie, haha.”

Varian dares to venture back to her side. “Cassie.”

Cassandra doesn’t answer, her eyes flutter closed, and her mouth parts. She stills.

“Cassie?” he asks a little quieter.

When she doesn’t answer this time, Varian relaxes. Cass is finally asleep.

“All the women in the seven kingdoms, and I’m here.”

Cassandra doesn’t answer, nor does he expect her to. Varian dares to brush his fingertip along the curve of her jaw.

“I wonder,” Varian ponders, brushing a strand of hair and tucking it behind her ear. “What kind of man does that make me?”

Varian clasps her hand and when he feels Cassandra’s fingers wrap around his in return, he‘s suddenly a hopeless fifteen-year old again, sitting before Cassandra like a servant to his queen. But at fifteen, he never felt like this when he touched her, never cared quite as much as he does now.

He never experienced the slow-ridden anxiety that comes with her destiny, to die for Rapunzel to live; never before has his stomach twisted like this.

Anxiety, worry, hopelessness, growing panic. Never before has he so feared the moment that she would inevitably disappear from him forever, leaving him before he’s able to tell her...

Her lips curl into an unconscious frown, and her fingers tighten around his hand before she relaxes once more. Varian tries to settle his rampant emotions by pressing a small, desperate kiss to her temple.

“I won’t let you die on me, Cassie,” he whispers to her. “And if I have to die for you to live, then so be it.”

Cass sighs in her sleep, her low rhythmic breathing stirring in the silence. Varian stands slowly, bracing both hands on her bed. The woman underneath him stirs but doesn’t awaken, and he gazes at her unabashedly, once again her unwanted protector. Some part of him has always known that he never really had a choice. That he would stand by her side until the very end and even after that.

“My life is and always has been yours, Cassandra. If I can’t promise you anything else, I at least promise you that.”


End file.
